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National Democratic Convention: Day One; Florida Still Flooded by Fay

Aired August 25, 2008 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again. Welcome everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien, reporting from New York this morning with the very latest happening, day one of the Democratic National Convention.
The race is deadlocked, at least in the latest CNN polling. Hillary Clinton supporters, many not yet fully on board.

Some new information for you this morning as well.

Barack Obama is going to make a video appearance tonight in the hall. Ted Kennedy, who is battling cancer, will be there in person.

And also, some new signs of dissension. Bill Clinton said to be unhappy. He is being asked to speak about national security and not the economy during his time on Wednesday night.

Digging deeper, let's get right to Democrat and CNN contributor, Jamal Simmons. Joining this morning, also, CNN contributor and Republican strategist, Leslie Sanchez.

Hi, guys. Nice to see you both.

Jamal, let's start with you.

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Bill Clinton has told source that he's not very happy about his topic at the convention speech, which is security and not the economy, which he feels is his sweet spot. And that, of course, has led everybody talking to conversations about disunity, as opposed to unity, which is the theme of the convention. This has got to hurt the convention message. I should say the Clinton camp says and aides have said this is all overblown.

This is hurting the message though that we're talking about this and not unity, right?

SIMMONS: You know, there's a lot of rumors that fly around these conventions. I think as Robert Gibbs said earlier, if Democrats didn't wring their hands, we wouldn't know what to do.

There's a -- the reality is, the Clintons are very happy to be here. The Obama campaign and the Clinton campaign are really operating as one.

When you get to Chicago now and you're in the suites, there are former Clinton staffers and Obama staffers, you know, working together side by side. So I don't think anybody here thinks there's going to be a problem.

What we're going to be talking about here though is the real new direction that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are offering for the country, and the fact that John McCain really wants to continue more policies of George Bush. And so for the next four days, you will be very clear that this is a uniquely American story. We have got a great American team of Obama and Biden, and they're really going to take the country in a new direction.

O'BRIEN: All right.

So Leslie, Jamal is telling me there's no problem at all, Soledad.

LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, not at all. I don't know. I've been here a couple of days.

O'BRIEN: Here's my question for you. You look at the poll numbers, and I would say there is some problem certainly trickling down to the actual voters when they're polled, yes?

SANCHEZ: Absolutely. It's drainage.

There are a significant number of people that are -- you know, you're going to get crossover Republicans that like Obama, Democrats that like McCain. But the difference is you're getting a larger percentage that are looking at McCain seriously, and a lot of that has to do with the fact they don't understand who Barack Obama is.

He hasn't closed the sale. There are concerns about his judgment, his experience. And even just the latest conflict with Russia and Georgia just pointed to the fact he's out on a beach in Honolulu, as opposed to looking, even image-wise, like a commander in chief and somebody's who's prepared.

And finally, with his choice of Joe Biden, it's almost an inverted ticket. You have him picking a mentor, someone who's older, much senior, and who's really a status quo candidate, more so than even Clinton.

O'BRIEN: Well, or you could argue that the old saying, A people pick A people to be with them, and B people pick C people to be their running mates, I would say.

Let's get right back to Jamal on that. That's a possibility.

SIMMONS: I think what the pick of Joe Biden shows is that Barack Obama is incredibly confident about himself, and he wants to have the best team around him. And he said for a long time, he wanted a team of rival sort of concept in his government so that he had the best people who were doing the best work regardless of their experience level.

I think the American people will look at the Biden and Obama, Obama/Biden team, and they'll say this is a team of uniquely American politicians who can really go out and change the country. What you see with Joe Biden is, he's from a hard-working part of Pennsylvania in Scranton, he's really a blue-collar kind of guy. You've got Barack Obama, you know, who grew up and had to get himself in school, work his way through, get scholarships and really make a life for himself.

This is a great American success story, and this American team is going to take us into a great new direction for our country.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Yes, Leslie -- if the Democrats, Leslie, ever stop talking about Barack Obama versus the Clinton, and actually start talking about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton versus John McCain -- and in parenthesis there, (George Bush) -- they really could have an argument on their hands. And that could be a big problem for the Republicans.

SANCHEZ: Very true. I will tell you, I spoke to many senior Republican strategists who very concerned that Hillary Clinton was going to be the VP pick. That was a serious concern within the party because they thought it was a much more formidable candidacy.

I think in this sense, you can sell Joe Biden being from Scranton. I don't know the last time he was there. I mean, this is somebody who's been in the Senate and has basically earned his living off the federal dole his entire career. That is not somebody's who has ever paid a payroll, who's run a small business, who's been an executive.

O'BRIEN: Leslie -- Leslie, you're not going to make...

SIMMONS: Wow. John McCain has been on the federal payroll since he was 17 when he went away to the Naval Academy.

O'BRIEN: The two of you are cracking me up this morning.

Listen, we're going to continue our conversation. Yes, exactly.

We're going to take a short break.

And you know what? Hang on. Let me get to another question for you, because Leslie, let me pull you back up if we can for a sec.

Is she there still? I hear her laughing.

So Leslie and Jamal...

SIMMONS: We're here.

SANCHEZ: We're here. I hear you.

O'BRIEN: I hear you and I see you now, which is a good thing. I'm going to ask you to stick around for just a second, as we continue our conversation, day one of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Michelle Obama is going to be speaking tonight. And Barack Obama, as we've mentioned, is expected to make a video appearance.

Ted Kennedy in Denver, expected to attend a tribute in his honor tonight. He's been fighting brain cancer, as you probably know. He was an early supporter of Senator Obama.

He's now got this big challenge ahead of him, according to some of this new polling we've been talking about. We'll get to Bill Schneider with more on that straight ahead.

And also, we have got a Candy Crowley piece taking a look at exactly what's happened there in Denver. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Democratic ticket came together for the first time in Springfield, Illinois, the epicenter of Barack Obama's explosive career.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On the steps of the old state house, in the land of Lincoln, President Lincoln once instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Today in Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place.

CROWLEY: Nineteen months ago, in the frigid climate of an Illinois winter, Obama launched his improbable presidential campaign, an electric but untested senator selling something new. From improbable to incredible, Obama returned in the high heat of August selling the familiar, 35-year Senate veteran Joe Biden.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This working- class kid from Scranton and Washington has always been a friend to the underdog, and all who seek a safer and more prosperous America to live their dreams and raise their families.

CROWLEY: Biden brings a burst of energy to a campaign that stalled in late June, and reassurance to establishment Democrats concerned Obama is underperforming in the polls. Biden immediately began to earn his pay, a regular "Joe" reaching into a voting bloc resistant to Obama.

BIDEN: I'm here for the cops and the firefighters, the teachers and the line workers, the folks who live, the folks whose lives are the measure of whether the American dream endures.

CROWLEY: And Biden slipped easily into the traditional number two role as attack dog a la Biden: slice him up with a smile or a tinge of regret.

BIDEN: I'll tell you, frankly, I've been disappointed in my friend John McCain, who gave into the right wing of his party and yielded to the very Swift Boat politics that he so -- once so deplored. CROWLEY: One is the half-black, half-white son of a single mom raised mostly in Hawaii. The other, the oldest of four in a white working class family raised in Pennsylvania. They will campaign on their commonality, as the products of the American dream that brought them together in Springfield, Illinois.

BIDEN: Ladies and gentlemen, that's your story. That's America's story. It's about, if you get up, you can make it.

OBAMA: We will restore that fair shot at your dreams that is at the core of who Joe Biden is and I am, and what America is as a nation.

CROWLEY: And out of Springfield, the journey continues.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That's Candy Crowley reporting for us.

We're going to be back shortly with more convention coverage.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right after this short break.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're informed with CNN.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Monday morning, August 25th.

Here's what's on the rundown now.

Leftovers from Tropical Storm Fay stirring up tornado warnings and watches in the South this morning. Plus, there's new trouble brewing in the tropics.

HARRIS: A baseball game comes to an early end when a plane crashes near the pitcher's mound. Incredible rescue pictures.

COLLINS: Great Britain getting busy for the next Olympic games. Goodbye Beijing, hello London 2012 -- in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Let's talk about the weather now.

(WEATHER)

COLLINS: So as we said, the Southeast is still dealing with remnants of what was Tropical Storm Fay, while in Florida, many people are left dealing with the destruction Fay left behind.

CNN's Susan Candiotti has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so beautiful and so peaceful. We feel very blessed.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Theresa And Conrad Bisson, in their 80s, married nearly 63 years, love living in their modest prefab home on a lake. Then Fay hit last week and the lake water rose to saturate their floor from below.

THERESA BISSON, HOMEOWNER: This has a double floor on it.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): All right. So we'll walk on the right side here and feel the floor going up and down.

CONRAD BISSON, HOMEOWNER: Oh, yes, that there is no good.

T. BISSON: I have an angel tree and all my angels fell down. The dining room is -- the table is certainly off kilter.

C. BISSON: This area is really bad.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Now they don't know what to do. In every room, the floor is close to sinking.

(on camera): If you step off side this wooden plank, you can really see how soft the floor is. And of course, very dangerous to walk on.

T. BISSON: And our TV room and our computer room.

CANDIOTTI: And again, how are the floors in here?

T. BISSON: The floors are all gone in here, too.

CANDIOTTI: Last week, their community watched in disbelief when the lake started rising. Many neighbors had to be rescued from their flooded homes.

(on camera): What was going through your mind?

T. BISSON: My husband was in denial. He said, "It won't come much more, it won't come much more," but it did.

CANDIOTTI: The worst of it is the Bissons have no insurance. Their old company pulled off stakes in Florida and now the Bissons cannot afford another policy. Many of their neighbors, including Frank Cassera (ph) are in the same boat or worse. He takes care of his disabled wife and hoped he wouldn't need insurance.

C. BISSON: Destroyed, absolutely destroyed. Without FEMA's help, I have no idea with I'm going to do. CANDIOTTI: FEMA is their best chance for help. Starting over won't be easy and they still won't be able to afford insurance. The Bissens have a small nest egg and this might drain it.

(on camera): What do you think will happen next?

C. BISSON: Who knows? God is in charge. God is in charge. I'm not in charge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Susan Candiotti joining us now live from another county in Florida where they are still feeling the effects from all that rain.

Susan, what's the situation where you are now?

CANDIOTTI: Well, Heidi, we are now in Volusia County, which is about 100 or so miles north of Orlando. Specifically, in the city of DeBary, nicknamed the "River City," because the St. Johns River, which flows north, by the way -- very unusual -- passes by this town. Because of all the rain here, as you can see over my shoulder, that did a number on a lot of the retention lakes and ponds and small lakes that have been -- where communities have been built up around their subdivisions, housing subdivisions.

Because they overflowed their banks, that has caused flooding in some homes, so much so that the city and the county has decided to evacuate about 180 homes here. It's not a problem that exists throughout the entire community, just in some subdivisions here.

So they have asked some people to get out because their homes were flooded. They have asked others to get out in advance of possible flooding. And so they are hoping that this water will recede, they don't know exactly how long that will take.

For now, it is very hot, it is very sunny, and they're doing a lot of work to try to take care of the problem. One of the things they're doing I'm going to show you down the street here, they have diverted some traffic in a couple of spots in town. And they have a lot of pumps, tanker trucks that are pumping the water to bring the level down from some of these lakes so that it will help the water to recede, perhaps a little bit faster.

What they are also hoping is that they don't get too much more rain. In the summertime, of course, you always get the possibility of heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon. So that's why they're trying to remove as much of the water as they can, to help the water recede, to help bring the lake level down, and so that some people can get back into their homes.

Protectively, they've also cut power to about 180 homes or so, so that the lines aren't damaged. So, still some cleanup to do here in Volusia County, but they have shut down the emergency operations center.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Wow. You can certainly see all that damage. And I've never really seen tankers like that trying to move in and move out the water. It still seems so futile though, even though they're that big. I certainly wish the folks...

CANDIOTTI: They do. They've got more than 30 of them out here, so they're hard at work throughout the day.

COLLINS: Wow. Wow.

All right. CNN's Susan Candiotti from Volusia County.

Sure do appreciate it. Thank you.

HARRIS: Well, here are a few of the numbers to put Fay in some kind of perspective for you. The storm is blamed for 13 death, 11 in Florida.

Fay's slow trek took it to every corner of the state. Thousands of people were forced from their homes. President Bush has declared four counties federal disaster areas. Three are on the east coast of Florida, one on the southwestern tip of the state.

COLLINS: This hour, John McCain tries to wrestle the spotlight from the Democrats at the convention in Denver. You're looking at some live pictures now, waiting for the start of his event in Phoenix. It comes as the buzz grows louder and louder over his announcement of a running mate.

We will join today's event -- it's a town hall meeting -- just as soon as it gets under way.

Minutes from now, we return our focus to the Democrats' national convention. It kicks off today with the newly-formed ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

CNN was first to tell you it was Biden who won the coveted spot. The next question, where does the ticket go from here?

We'll have the very latest coming up for you at the bottom of the hour.

HARRIS: OK. Your money, your concerns, issue #1 here at CNN.

A big week rings in on Wall Street. Last hour, we learned that sales of existing homes saw a 3.1 percent jump in July. That is almost double the rate that was expected. It is the first of several snapshots this week on the health of the nation's economy.

Let's look at the Big Board, the New York Stock Exchange right now. And the Dow is down 131 points. I don't know if that is a session low, but it is close.

Meanwhile, gas prices are still dropping. According to the Lundberg Survey, the national average of $3.70 a gallon is 15 cents less than just two weeks ago. That is still almost 95 cents higher than it was a year ago.

Those higher prices may actually be saving some lives. Americans are driving less, and that's likely contributing to the lowest number of traffic deaths in decades. According to the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan, the U.S. could see its lowest death toll on the roads since 1961.

COLLINS: Small kids, big league drama. A plane crashes on a baseball field during a game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The left wing was kind of hanging and it was on top of them. And so we were trying to move the wing so that they could crawl out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A helmet cam captures incredible rescue pictures.

(COMMERCIAL)

COLLINS: Your "Daily Dose" today, a potentially deadly childhood disease on the rise on the United States, and almost entirely preventable. Talking about measles.

The Centers for Disease Control says outbreaks are at their highest levels in more than a decade. At least 131 cases already this year, up from 42 in all of last year. Measles vaccinations prevents most infections, but doctors say some parents are skipping them for religious reasons or fears the shots are linked to autism. The CDC says there's no scientific evidence to back that up.

HARRIS: New developments in a series of deadly plane crashes over the past few days.

A small plane carrying American humanitarian workers crashed in Guatemala. Ten people killed, including eight Americans. It happened yesterday. Authorities say the pilot called in engine trouble about 45 minutes before going down in a field east of Guatemala City.

On the other side of the world, emergency workers combed through the wreckage of a passenger jet crash outside of Kyrgyzstan's main airport. Sixty-five people killed, 25 others survived yesterday's crash.

The Boeing 737 was headed to the Iranian capital of Tehran. The cause, most likely a technical problem, officials say.

And in Spain, some of the victims of last week's Spanair jet crash may never be identified. Government officials say many people were burned beyond recognition and they're having trouble obtaining DNA from relatives. So far, 90 of the 154 people killed have been identified. Eighteen people survived the crash.

COLLINS: In Caldwell, Texas, a small plane crashes onto a baseball field during a game. And here's something you have to see.

Take a look now at this dramatic rescue video. These pictures captured by a policeman on his helmet cam. You see what he sees as he rushes to untangle the pilot and passenger from the wreckage of the single-engine Cessna.

Both men survived. Several children were playing ball when the plane developed engine trouble and crashed just a few feet from the pitcher's mound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AUSTIN SCARMARDO, WITNESS: It was coming in and it nailed -- it hit the pole. If it wasn't for the pole, it would have probably came in left field and hit some of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Most certainly, it's a game the kids will always remember. Amazingly, no one on the ground was hurt.

HARRIS: The Democrats throw a big party in Denver. Convention coverage with Soledad O'Brien.

And what's left of Fay sticks around the South, stirring up tornado watches and warnings today. Live to the extreme weather center.

(COMMERCIAL)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien reporting from New York this morning. You're looking at the outside of the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Preparations underway inside for the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Now historically, the Republican presumed nominee kind of lays low while the Democrats are holding their convention. Not this time.

John McCain is actually at a local high school in Phoenix, Phoenix Central High School. Listen to what he's telling some of the students there.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This country will go through an experience in the most fundamental part of democracy and that is to select the next leader of the nation. I hope everyone here who is eligible to vote will vote. I hope we have the chance to discuss the issues and be involved and be engaged in the political process.

I'd finally like to remind you what many of you may not know, that Arizona has had some great leaders before me. One of them was a guy named Barry Goldwater, who ran for president in 1964. He was a great man and a great leader of our conservative wings of the party. We had a great liberal Democrat named Morris Udall, who by the way has a son who is now running for the United States senate up in Colorado. And we had a guy who was a leader in the house of representatives that I succeeded, a guy named John Rhodes.

But my point is, this state, which for a long time, was a very small state, I'm very proud of, because we produced a lot of great national leaders. It's a great legacy and a great responsibility for me to follow in the footsteps of some of those great leaders, both either Republican or Democrat.

So I hope you'll be involved, but most importantly, I know why you are sitting here, that is not to listen to me so much. But I brought a special friend along with me today. A great American success story. As you know, he's from Puerto Rico. He's been married for 15 years. He has children aged 14, 12 and 10. His -- one of his most famous songs, I know you're very familiar with, "Gasolina." It means, here he is, Daddy Yankee.

DADDY YANKEE, REGGAETON ARTIST: Good morning. Good morning.

This is an honor to be here this beautiful morning with everybody right here. I heard it's a very special school, so it's a big pleasure to be with you. All right? What's up?

O'BRIEN: But then, when Daddy Yankee came out, of course, watch the girls practically fainting there.

Let's get right to Dana Bash because of course, Dana, the real story here is that John McCain is not lying low, as is traditionally done for kind of the other side, during one party's convention, he's introducing some famous young heartthrob apparently, and, really, he is continuing to poke at the DNC.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is absolutely continuing to poke at the DNC. Specifically, what he's trying to do, maybe not him, you know, through his own words but definitely through his campaign and through his campaign cash, Soledad, he is trying to drive a wedge and really stoke and exploit something that is very real, that is going on here at the convention in Denver, which is some discord between Hillary Clinton supporters and Barack Obama supporters. Specifically what he's trying to do is lure some of those still unhappy Hillary Clinton supporters to his campaign.

In fact, I think we have a brand-new ad that came out from the McCain campaign this morning. Let's take a listen to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN AD)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat. She had the experience and judgment to be president. Now, in a first for me, I'm supporting a Republican - John McCain.

MCCAIN: The program going on --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There, you heard an ad that was paid for by John McCain and his campaign. In fact, the woman you just saw in that ad is going to appear at a press conference with some of McCain's advisers here in Denver. They're kind of behind enemy lines here at the Democratic convention.

What they're trying to do is trying to exploit something that actually we see in raw data now, Soledad, and that is that Hillary Clinton supporters are many, many more than just a couple of months ago after the heat of the Democratic primary battle, they are saying that they are about 27 percent are saying they're more likely to vote for John McCain than Barack Obama. There's nothing more that John McCain wants and needs, especially in some of those key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, to keep luring those voters his way.

O'BRIEN: All right, Dana Bash for us this morning. Thank you very much Dana.

We'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning and continue updates throughout the day.

I'm Soledad O'Brien. I'm going to send it back to CNN NEWSROOM in Atlanta right after this short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.

Severe weather topping the news this morning. Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in Florida now because of the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay. We are seeing tornado warnings in Alabama now as part of that same storm system. And in Colorado, we have amazing pictures of one of several tornadoes there. You can see it twisting right behind that house in Parker, Colorado, it's only about 25 miles from Denver.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Now back to those tornadoes we were telling you about in Colorado. We have some great pictures of one of those twister any way. Take a look at this. The tornado bearing down on that home, and others in the area outside Denver. People in the path running for cover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It kind of started bending a little bit and then it would just move back and went over more towards our neighbor's house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so scary, it was like the scariest thing ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Boy, I bet it was scary. Luckily, there were no injuries or serious damage to report. HARRIS: We don't have a lot of information on this but certainly want to put it on your radar. It's just information that we're getting from the Associated Press, of an earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude, pretty sizable earthquake in Tibet, in western China. No idea of potential injuries associated with this earthquake just yet. The reporting on this is very early.

This information also in addition to the Associated Press also coming from the U.S Geological Survey. So we will keep an eye on this and try to get some additional information for you. An earthquake measuring 6.3 magnitude in Tibet, that's in western China.

COLLINS: Desperation growing in India today. As many as a million people are stranded by flooding in northeastern India, military helicopters and troops are trying to get aid to that area and the local government is also pleading for help from relief agencies. Heavy rain last week forced a major river across the border in Nepal to overflow its banks, washing out roads and railway lines.

HARRIS: Israel looking to energize the peace process with Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas. It released almost 200 Palestinian prisoners today. The release coming hours before the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Washington has been pressuring Israel and the Palestinian authorities to reach a peace agreement before the end of the year. Most Mideast observers say, not likely.

A senior al Qaeda leader in Iraq in custody and facing interrogation today, the accused mastermind behind the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll. Carroll worked for "The Christian Science Monitor," you may recall. She was taken captive in January of 2006 and held for almost three months. Her interpreter was shot and killed. The officials say a second senior al Qaeda leader was also captured.

COLLINS: Iraqi police discover a vest packed with explosives. Incredibly, a 15-year-old girl is wearing it.

CNN's Arwa Damon picks up the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clear all the civilians, a voice yells. This girl is wearing an explosive vest, detected when she was searched by a female security official at a checkpoint in Baquba. As you can see in this police video, the cameraman is keeping his distance. She's just 15-years-old. We're concealing her identity because of her age.

Is everything OK, someone asks? Yes, yes, the policeman replies. With the belt safely removed, the girl is taken into custody.

At the police station, her voice trembles, her sentences are incomplete, often incoherent. A woman put it on me, she says. Do you know them, the police asks? I swear, I don't know them, she answers. She says her husband was present when the women put the vest on her and she also swears she didn't want to detonate herself.

If you didn't want to detonate, why did you get rid of the trigger, a police officer asks her?

I didn't throw it away. Maybe it fell. I don't know about this, she replies.

The police tried to convince her to lead them to the women. Take us to them so we can help you they say. She led us to a house the general says, where there are two women and a man who are involved in preparing suicide belts and prepping the women. The police found a second vest with the house deserted, they detained her parents.

She was duped, they explain. This operation was prepared by professional women. She says she was carrying this belt on her body to transfer it from one location to another. She says, she was promised it wouldn't explode. But her story keeps changing. Later, she swears she didn't even know the vest contained explosives.

I was going to give it to my mother so that she could inform the police, she swears. The police are searching for the terrorist cell members.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Arwa Damon joining us now live from Baghdad this morning.

Arwa, is there any progress in the search for those terrorists?

DAMON: Not at this point just yet. The police are telling us that they're still interrogating her, trying to draw as much information and detail, and that they expect to be launching follow-up raids within the next 24 to 48 hours but not disclosing too much because they don't want to jeopardize this operation. Where it's taking place, the province of Diyala is really at the heart of insurgency use of female suicide bombers.

Just think about it -- in the first six months of 2008, this year, we saw triple the number of suicide bombings being carried out by women than we did in all of 2007 -- Heidi.

COLLINS: It's interesting, because obviously, we do know, we have noticed that there have been more female suicide bombers. But I wonder why it's still happening. Because when you take out that element of surprise, when we're talking about security here, it seems like it's not really -- it shouldn't be an issue anymore. You would suspect everyone, male or female.

DAMON: Well and you do. That's really what makes it quite difficult to operate out on the streets. You're essentially looking at every single person around you as a potential bomber. What they've tried to do to combat this is recruit women to search other women at checkpoints. There are a number of reasons why that effort just isn't enough. The women, their motives are very different from what motivates the men suicide bombers, at least that's according to U.S. intelligence. Their psyche is very different. We're seeing an increase also because they are exploiting this weakness within the security system. They're able to recruit these women a lot more easily in recent times because a lot of them are motivated by things like revenge. It has been such an intense fight here, many of them already have these pre-established links to al Qaeda and they've had husbands, brothers or fathers who have been killed in the fighting. Others have just seen their entire families destroyed by the war here are really in the depths of depression and are very easily manipulated by the insurgents or swayed by promises of heavily rewards. Some are even promised that al Qaeda will take care of their families, they make cash promises even though they end up not paying out. What the intelligence analysts believe to truly address this problem, you have to address their psyche and the very root cause but it's very complex -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Arwa Damon, reporting for us live from Baghdad this morning.

Arwa, thanks.

HARRIS: Cheerio, Beijing, London calling. That was terrible.

COLLINS: It was. Cheerio, tallyho.

HARRIS: That was so much better.

Preparations for the 2012 Olympics are well under way and well in hand. Thank you, Heidi.

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HARRIS: So when it comes to the economy, Americans are growing more and more pessimistic it seems with each passing day. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with details. Stephanie, good to see you. I would imagine jobs and falling home prices would have something to do with these concerns and some of this pessimism.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony I don't think we're too surprised to hear this. I think we can kind of feel that a lot of folks are just not happy right now. It's a big topic for voters and presidential candidates alike. There's a new CNN Opinion Research poll, and it shows 75 percent of Americans say the economy is in bad shape. A year ago only 43 percent felt that way. So why is sentiment falling so quickly?

Well, job losses are growing. Nearing half a million so far this year. Prices are soaring with the annual inflation rate at a 17-year high, and the housing crisis, well, we know it keeps getting worse. A new report shows the glut of homes on the market hit a record last month, Tony. So people are feeling the pinch.

HARRIS: All right. But we're talking about how people feel and translate that. Make some sense of that. How important is it? ELAM: Well, it is actually important because it's one of those things where perception could potentially become reality. And people are feeling that way, then this is not good. The worse people feel about the economy, the less that they could potentially spend, which actually would turn around and hurt the overall economic growth. So that economic issue that's really been plaguing Wall Street for the beginning of this trading session.

Right now the financial sector is leading the markets lower. The Dow Jones Industrial is off 149 points at 11,476. NASDAQ off 38 at 2375. So we'll be keeping our eyes on it, see what's going on around here -- Tony and Heidi.

HARRIS: OK, appreciate it. Thank you Stephanie.

ELAM: Thanks.

HARRIS: Let's try this again. Ta-ta Beijing. Still pretty pathetic.

Hello, London, the official site of the 2012 summer Olympics. Last night Beijing wrapped up with a spectacular feast for the imagination. Some say it was as grand as the opening ceremony 16 days ago. In London, a huge handover party outside Buckingham Palace. Crowds waving flags and watching all of that excitement there as Beijing handed over that figurative torch.

So let's take a look at the medal count of this year's summer Olympics. The U.S. snatched the most gold, silver, and bronze, 110 total medals. China came in second with 100 medals, but took home the most gold and Russia took home 72 medals.

COLLINS: Go USA. As we mentioned, the next summer Olympics are in London, 2012. They're already getting a jump on preparation.

CNN's Jim Boulden has more.

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JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You have heard it all before, Olympic cities promising venues will be ready well ahead of time. London 2012 is no different.

PAUL DEIGHTON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, LONDON 2012: The main stadium we started a couple of months ago, which was two months early. We had (INAUDIBLE) to start it now, and the aquatic center we started a couple weeks ago. In terms of getting started, we're essentially a couple months ahead.

BOULDEN: In fact, London vows to have the big venues ready by the summer of 2011. All of which will be here at the main Olympic park, a one-mile square site in east London. It's Europe's largest public construction project. Alongside the foundations for the stadium and the swimming pools, some of the preliminary work is still taking place like cleaning up polluted rivers and the contaminated land on this derelict industrial site. (on camera): In fact, the only major building project which hasn't started yet will be where that big mound of dirt is behind the blue fence. That will be the international press center. It has to be big enough to house 20,000 journalists.

(voice-over): But new housing for 17,000 athletes and officials is causing headaches. Thanks to the credit crunch. There have been problems securing private financing for the project. The government may have to foot part of that bill out of the existing $17 billion budget. A budget that has soared from the initial estimate of about $6 billion. Those involved promise taxpayers won't be forced to pay more for the games than they already are. So London is looking for places to cut costs.

SIMON WRIGHT, OLYMPIC DELIVERY AUTHORITY: The budget was announced some while ago, and we're firmly sticking within that budget, so, so far we're very confident. Those contingencies have been allowed and so far we've only had to draw on these very slightly. I'm very confident that we're going to deliver on program and within that announced budget.

BOULDEN: London 2012 is also trying to raise billions more to run the event. Much of that will come in cash and services from corporate sponsors like BP, which has just signed up.

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: Millions will be traveling to and from the games. We're going to provide them with fuel support, we're also going to provide them with logistical support.

BOULDEN: The international Olympic committee has given London high marks for being so far ahead with four years to go. The marks London gets from the public will largely depend on whether organizers can stick to the revised budgets.

Jim Boulden, CNN, London.

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HARRIS: Opening day for the Democrats in Denver. The best political team on television is standing by.

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